The focus of this year's Education at a Glance publication is on the quality of learning outcomes and the policy levers that shape these outcomes. The report draws attention to the improvement in the educational profile of the Irish population and describes as "significant" the improvement in the proportion of the population with upper second level education. Through its programme for international student assessment the OECD also gives us a good overview of the comparative performances of our 15 year old students in literacy, mathematics and scientific knowledge. In the areas of literacy and science we have performed exceptionally well, as the Minister said, and everyone in the House would agree that we should congratulate the students themselves, the parents and the teachers. We should also acknowledge the role played by all those who contribute to the formulation of education policy and its delivery because we have a broadly successful education system of which we should all be proud.